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Governance and Ethics

World class safety and security performance and ethical behaviour

Nuclear safety and security are our top priority. This includes our contribution to nuclear non-proliferation and we remain committed to protecting our physical assets, people, IT systems and infrastructure following best practice and leading from the front. Urenco operates all areas of its business with integrity and transparency to ensure we behave ethically. This includes our work around anti-bribery and anti-corruption, anti-modern slavery and human rights in both our operations and in our supply chain.

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Nuclear safety, security and non-proliferation

We are fully compliant and committed to the treaties, laws and regulations that govern the nuclear energy industry and promote the peaceful application of nuclear power. These international agreements ensure we consistently meet the stringent inspection criteria set by global governing bodies, which act as a model for nuclear non-proliferation. 

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Highly regulated through government authorities 

In each of the countries where we operate, we work closely with the regulators and report to them on an ongoing basis. Government authorities regulate and approve the design and operating principles of our facilities to ensure safety and security. They also monitor and inspect them to check compliance with all relevant legislation.

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Zero significant nuclear security events

We are committed to having zero significant nuclear security events. To ensure this we will use our relationships and knowledge to strengthen our position as a reliable political partner in the field of international non-proliferation.

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Ethical and transparent behaviours

At Urenco we operate all areas of our business and supply chain in line with our values and behaviours. Our sustainability KPIs included in our corporate reports are externally assured and in line with the environmental, social and governance framework.

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Anti-modern slavery

Urenco recognises the importance of supporting measures designed to combat slavery and human trafficking in both our operations and our supply chain. As such, we have a modern slavery transparency act statement outlining our commitment to conducting all our relationships with honesty, fairness and respect.

Managing our sustainability

We continue to make progress in our management of sustainability at Urenco. Each quarter we collect and interrogate our sustainability data. The Managing Director of every enrichment facility is accountable for the sustainability of their site. Additional responsibility and ownership for the delivery of ESG areas of the sustainability strategy are divided among senior level sponsors.

All of our sites are represented by site data representatives who collate and analyse sustainability related data in accordance with the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) sustainability standards. They work alongside Group data representatives who monitor Urenco’s performance against its non-financial KPIs listed on this page.

In 2013, we established a Sustainability Committee, which meets three times a year and includes a meeting at one of our enrichment facilities with senior management from across the organisation. This ensures sustainability is incorporated into all operational and strategic decision making and is embedded across the organisation. The Chair of the Sustainability Committee, Miriam Maes, is also a Non-Executive Director and member of our Audit Committee. Miriam’s Board-level involvement demonstrates the depth of our commitment in this area.

The Executive Committee and senior leaders provide additional high level support for the work of the Sustainability Committee and help drive our performance in this area.

Read our sustainability policy
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  • Ensuring the highest standards

    Urenco works to the highest standards across all its activities following a clearly defined and straightforward quality management system and a programme of continual improvement. We have obtained certificates which demonstrate our ability to meet international standards for Quality Management Systems, Environmental Management Systems, and Information security, cybersecurity and privacy protection.

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  • Benchmarking our performance

    Urenco made its first submission to the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) in 2021. As a global, publicly available database, the CDP rating acts as a credible standard that customers, financial lenders and creditors can use in their decisions surrounding Urenco. By disclosing our environmental data to the CDP, which includes our carbon performance, climate risks and mitigation, targets and examples of our energy policy engagement work, we can benchmark our performance against nearly 12,000 other scored companies. Our most recent climate change disclosure was rated B.

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  • Accountability through financing

    2021 also saw Urenco sign a new sustainability-linked bank facility. As part of the facility negotiation, we presented Urenco’s sustainability objectives to our banks. The bank facility includes commitments on carbon reduction, water management and safety. If we achieve pre-set targets, we will benefit from slightly cheaper interest costs. If we fail, we will need to explain why and have higher costs.

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  • Decarbonising our supply chain

    Urenco is working in partnership with EcoVadis to independently assess our suppliers’ sustainability and validate their eco-credentials. This partnership supports us to make more informed, sustainable procurement decisions and increase our collaboration with the supply chain in pursuit of net zero. We recently achieved a bronze medal rating in our first assessment by EcoVadis, meaning we are in the top 50 percent of all rated organisations. So far 225 of our 358 suppliers have achieved a medal rating from EcoVadis, ranging from bronze right up to platinum.

    We are also a member of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) and we are supporting their project The Climate Drive, a centralised digital platform providing businesses with knowledge and solutions to decarbonise their value chains. The site features tools that companies can use to address challenges they are facing in implementing plans to reduce their emissions.

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  • Engaging our stakeholders

    At Urenco we listen, engage and partner with our stakeholders through open and honest dialogues to continue our services and further our sustainability efforts.

    Our stakeholder engagement policy is a core aspect of our commitment to good governance, which enables us to educate our stakeholders about our operations and our industry and also to understand specific issues and concerns.

    We engage with our stakeholders in various ways throughout the year including investor presentations, physical and virtual tours of our enrichment facilities, press releases, conferences and local community events.

    Find out more about our stakeholder engagement in our annual report.

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  • Advocating sustainability

    Urenco proactively advocates the role of nuclear energy in achieving a sustainable and low-carbon energy future and recognises the importance of the use of a science-based external approach – the 1.5°C goal of the Paris Agreement – to provide a stable framework aimed at reducing the impact of human induced climate change.

    In order to support making this vision and the Paris Agreement a reality, Urenco engages in dialogue with policymakers, regulators, business associations, like-minded business partners, NGOs, as well as a range of climate-focused membership bodies, coalitions, and stakeholder initiatives.

    In line with our commitment to tackle climate change and accelerate the transition to a net zero economy, Urenco is committed to conducting all its direct and indirect public policy engagement and advocacy work to align with and advance the Paris Agreement goals and accelerate the transition to a 1.5°C future.

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Key performance indicators

Our key performance indicators (KPIs) are metrics to demonstrate how our performance meets strategic targets. These strategic targets are objectives or milestones we wish to achieve by specific dates.

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Area Focus

Strategic Target

KPI

Environmental Impact:
Natural Resources 

By 2025, reduce operational water withdrawal by 15% compared to a 2020 baseline.

Rolling annual operational water withdrawal.
Number of projects to reduce water withdrawal per site.

Environmental Impact:
Net Zero

Achieve net zero by 2040.
Reduce Urenco's combined scope 1 & 2 emissions by 100% by 2030 from a 2019 baseline.
Reduce Urenco's scope 3 emissions by 30% by 2030 from a 2019 baseline.

Rolling annual reduction to scope 1 & 2 carbon emissions.
Rolling annual reduction to scope 3 carbon emissions.

Social Impact:
Social Investment

By 2025, invest €5 million in a diverse range of skills focused on achieving a net zero future, including supporting 50 interns by 2025 and forming at least 10 strategic charitable partnerships by 2025.

Rolling number of interns supported each year.
Rolling number of strategic charitable partnerships formed.
Rolling spend on Social Investment Programme between 2021 and 2025.

Social Impact:
Culture

Urenco aims to transform its leadership to become a culturally more diverse company:
>30% women in leadership/management roles by 2025 and 20% diverse workforce by 2025.

>30% women in A-D roles by 2025.
>20% other under-represented group* in all job holders by 2025.
>95% of Managers will undergo training on Inclusive Leadership by end of 2023.

Governance & Ethics:
Health, Safety and Wellbeing

Achieve an Interdependent Safety Culture by 2025.

Total Recodable Incident Rate (TRIR) of 0.34.
Zero fatalities.

Governance & Ethics: 
Nuclear Safety, Security and Non-Proliferation

No nuclear safety or proliferation impacts from Urenco operations.

Zero nuclear safety or proliferation regulatory breaches.

* racial/ethnic minority background; sex/gender/identity other than male; LGBTQ+; disability/health condition.

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